Facilitation of Oral Bolus Propulsion Using Electropalatography in Patients With Dysphagia

This study is not currently recruiting Study Participants on ClinicalConnection.com. If you would like to find active studies please search for clinical trials.

Bethesda,
Maryland20892

Purpose:

Electropalatography (EPG), a noninvasive device that provides specific visual output on
tongue-palate contact, has well-established usefulness as a biofeedback tool in speech
therapy. While EPG has also been shown to be capable of revealing the details of
linguopalatal interactions during swallowing, its applicability in swallowing therapy has
not been evaluated to date. This study will determine if EPG can facilitate bolus
propulsion in patients presenting with swallowing problems of the oral phase. Seven
patients with oral dysphagia will be selected to serve as subjects based on specific
inclusion and exclusion criteria, and each will be custom-fitted with a pseudo-palate. Each
patient will undergo four 45-minute sessions of biofeedback training with emphasis on
developing systematic front-to-back anchoring of the tongue against the palate during
propulsion of liquid and semisolid boluses. Ultrasound imaging will be used to determine
swallow durations and identify oral deficits of swallowing before the EPG biofeedback
training, and to identify any changes that may result from the training. Quantitative
measurements will also be made of the swallow-related EPG contact timing and pattern before
and after training and compared for each individual subject as a function of training and
bolus volume. Appropriate statistical analyses will be conducted.

Study summary:

Electropalatography (EPG), a noninvasive device that provides specific visual output on
tongue-palate contact, has well-established usefulness as a biofeedback tool in speech
therapy. While EPG has also been shown to be capable of revealing the details of
linguopalatal interactions during swallowing, its applicability in swallowing therapy has
not been evaluated to date. This study will determine if EPG can facilitate bolus
propulsion in patients presenting with swallowing problems of the oral phase. Ten patients
with oral dysphagia will be selected to serve as subjects based on specific inclusion and
exclusion criteria, and each will be custom-fitted with a pseudo-palate. Each patient will
undergo four 45-minute sessions of biofeedback training with emphasis on developing
systematic front-to-back anchoring of the tongue against the palate during propulsion of
liquid and semisolid boluses. Ultrasound imaging will be used to determine swallow
durations and identify oral deficits of swallowing before the EPG biofeedback training, and
to identify any changes that may result from the training. Quantitative measurements will
also be made of the swallow-related EPG contact timing and pattern before and after training
and compared for each individual subject as a function of training and bolus volume.
Appropriate statistical analyses will be conducted.

Criteria:

Patients who have undergone comprehensive swallowing evaluations (i.e., ultrasound and/or
videofluoroscopic swallow studies, oral sensorimotor examination, and swallowing
questionnaire) in the Speech Pathology Section and have been found to have dysphagia with
prominent oral signs.
All subjects must be alert and oriented to time and place, able to ingest food by mouth,
and have intact or aided hearing and vision.
No patients that exhibit oral apraxia, dementia, aphasia, behavioral problems, and
endentousness.

NCT ID:

NCT00001718

Primary Contact:

N/A

Backup Contact:

N/A

Location Contact:

Bethesda, Maryland 20892United States

There is no listed contact information for this specific location.

Site Status: N/A

Data Source: ClinicalTrials.gov

Date Processed: March 16, 2018

Modifications to this listing: Only selected fields are shown, please use the link below to view all information about this clinical trial.